The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, for example, for use in a consumer video camera or the like, as well as a method for operating same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and its method of operation which, when a user takes a picture through an electronic viewfinder, operation buttons displayed on a finder screen in the form of icons can be selected with ease using a liquid crystal display monitor as a touch pad.
Conventionally, in a video camera apparatus including both a liquid crystal display monitor having touch panel functions and an electronic viewfinder, when a user takes a picture through the electronic viewfinder, for example, a plurality of operation buttons are displayed on a finder screen in the form of icons, together with a subject image. A user can select a plurality of operation buttons on this finder screen by operating a touch panel, making use of a liquid crystal display monitor in a blind-touch manner.
In this case, the touch panel is such that the whole touch pad is divided vertically into three touch-sensitive areas. For example, the right and left touch-sensitive areas are used to move a cursor in the right and left directions on the finder screen. The central touch-sensitive area is used to set an operation button designated by the cursor. Therefore, to select a certain operation button, the user must move a cursor to place it on the desired operation button by pressing the right or left touch-sensitive areas of the touch panel, and then must press the central touch-sensitive area of the touch panel to actuate the selected button.
However, because the user must perform the button selection operation described above while he watches a subject through the electronic viewfinder, the operation will be complicated. Moreover, because the user must touch the touch panel many times, it takes a lot of time to select a certain operation button. These problems may cause a user to miss crucial shooting conditions.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and seeks to provide an image pickup apparatus in which complicated touch panel operations can be eliminated and a simpler operation can be expected.
To attain the above objects, an image pickup apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a body having an image pickup element for converting an incident image into a video signal, a recording mechanism for recording the video signal and a playback mechanism for reproducing the video signal; an electronic viewfinder provided on the body to enable a user to watch a shooting subject image through an eyepiece, the viewfinder displaying a series of icons at predetermined positions thereof, each icon representing a distinct operation; a display externally provided on the body, the display having a touch panel provided thereon, the touch panel having a series of actuating areas located in set positions relative to the display, each set position corresponding to one of the predetermined positions of the viewfinder, whereby the operation represented by an icon in one of the predetermined positions can be selected by touching the actuating area of the touch screen in the set position corresponding to the one of the predetermined positions.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of operating an image pickup apparatus having a body, an electronic viewfinder mounted on the body to enable the user to watch a shooting subject image through an eyepiece, and a display externally mounted on the body, the display having a touch panel provided thereon. The method consists of displaying in the viewfinder a series of icons at predetermined positions thereof, each icon representing a distinct operation; providing the touch panel with a series of actuating areas located in set positions relative to the display, each set position corresponding to one of the predetermined positions of the viewfinder; and selecting the operation represented by an icon in one of the predetermined positions by touching the actuating area of the touch screen in the set position corresponding to the one of the predetermined positions.
According to the above image pickup apparatus and its operation method, when a user takes a picture through an electronic viewfinder, a user can select and determine a specific operation by blind-touching the touch panel position corresponding to the position of the icon representing that specific operation as it is displayed on the finder screen.
Moreover, because the icons are displayed at the four corners of the finder screen and the touch-sensitive areas which are used to selectively actuate the operations are provided on the touch panel at its four corners corresponding to the icon displayed positions, the touch-sensitive area positions are made clear so that a user can perform a blind-touch operation without fail, thereby allowing operability to be improved.